


The Death of Vibe

by BonitaBreezy



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Harry thinks Cisco is legit dead, I'm Sorry, M/M, Vibe Appreciation, With a teeny tiny bit of angst, and the city, basically this is super self-indulgent and I don't even care, but like really this is total, for both Cisco and Harry, hi this isn't beta'd at all, that summary...is not good, the aftermath of Vibe's death, the things that make the world go round
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-26
Updated: 2018-10-26
Packaged: 2019-08-07 18:06:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16413299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BonitaBreezy/pseuds/BonitaBreezy
Summary: In the aftermath of Vibe's "death", Cisco is left to pick up the pieces of his life and find his place. Harry is left to mourn.





	The Death of Vibe

It had been just over a month since Vibe was killed, and Cisco was going stir crazy.

It had been a month full of using his powers for stupid little things, just to make sure that he still could.  It had been a month of blocking any and all instances of the word ‘Vibe’ from his news alerts, because reading about his own death made him feel depressed. It was a month of herding super-douche-Sherloque around and keeping him from running away to a different universe at the first opportunity. It was a month of resisting the urge to shake Barry and Iris’ daughter by her shoulders while begging her not to be  _ so much like her father _ .

The only good thing about his sudden, untimely death was that he had the time to really sit down and mourn the end of his relationship with Cindy.  He’s spent nearly a week in a drunken stupor, wallowing in his own self-pity, and when he’d come out at the end, he’d been okay. Not great, still a little sad that it hadn’t worked out, but okay.  Able to accept that it had been for the best. To understand that they never would have worked in the long term, no matter how much he’d wanted them to. 

He’d come to terms with it and let himself start to heal, just in time to be permanently benched.  Cisco sighed and tossed the screwdriver he’d been flipping in his hand onto his work table. He was going to go crazy just sitting around here.  He had to  _ do something _ .

“You’ll never guess what I just got you at Jitters,” Caitlin announced, brandishing a to-go cup at him.

“Coffee?” Cisco asked, raising his eyebrows.

Caitlin rolled her eyes and forced the cup into his hands, settling down on top of his work table, next to were his feet were propped.

“Try it,” she encouraged, flicking his ankle.

There was something bright blue poking through the hole in the lid, possibly food-colored whipped cream, and Cisco looked at it dubiously.  Caitlin gave him an exasperated look, so he sighed and took a drink. Then, he took another. It was good. There was the definite bitter tang of coffee, but also chocolate. It was too much chocolate to be a mocha, and not quite bitter enough for espresso.

“That’s good,” he said finally. “What is it?”

“Half hot chocolate, half coffee, with blue whip,” Caitlin said, and then, proudly, “They call it a Vibe.”

Cisco squeezed the cup a little too tightly, feeling it start to buckle under his grip.  He took another quick drink, because it was hella good, and then set it on the table. It felt a little bittersweet, to finally get a Jitters drink in the post-mortem. 

“Thanks, Cait,” he sighed. 

“I know this has been hard for you,” she says, frowning in that sweet, understanding Caitlin way. “Believe me, I know.”

And she really did, he knew.  She was still no closer to bringing Killer Frost back. Luckily Barry had Nora and Ralph to play his back-up muscle when necessary, but Cisco knew they both felt like they’d lost something vital.

“It has,” Cisco said, leaning his head back to stare up at the ceiling. “I’m dead so I can’t help in the field, there’s no satellite so I can’t be hero support.  Even the tech support side has been kind of dead. Basically I babysit Sherloque. And Cait...I hate that guy.”

“I know you do,” she said, patting his leg comfortingly.

“And…” Cisco paused, biting his tongue on the whiniest part. But Caitlin was Caitlin. If he couldn’t whine to her, he couldn’t whine to anyone. “It’s stupid, but it kind of bothers me that I’ve died and no one seems to care.  I mean...obviously you all know I’m fine, but...the only recognition I’ve gotten is a drink at Jitters. And I don’t do this for the attention, and I know that I’m basically a sidekick and that I sound like a brat. But it would have been nice to get a little appreciation for dying for this city.”

“Oh Cisco,” Caitlin said, and she didn’t sound judgmental or pitying.  She just sounded sad. “I think you’ll find that people appreciated Vibe a lot more than you think.”

Cisco shrugged noncommittally and took another drink from his slightly-crushed cup.

“Damn that’s good,” he sighed.

“You’ll see,” Caitlin said, giving his leg a little reassuring shake. “Now, come on.  Let me buy you dinner.”

And Cisco, depressed or not, was never one to pass up free food. Still, he made a show of heaving a sigh and pulling himself out of his chair with difficulty.  It made Caitlin snort and roll her eyes, and he felt a little better as she pulled him out the door.

* * *

Harry’s office was quiet more often than not lately, as he threw himself in to reading and studying, trying to regain all the knowledge he’d lost with a single-minded focus that made Jesse worry.  She was glad she’d been able to convince him that being a genius and processing his emotion weren’t mutually exclusive, but ever since he’d heard the news he’d taken it too far. Like he thought if he could just jam enough knowledge back in to his head he’d be able to turn off his emotions for good.

Silently, she cursed Cisco for it, even as she felt guilty knowing that it wasn’t his fault.  She was sure he hadn’t intended to die, even if it was a risk they all faced every time they went out into the field. But...no one had come to tell them.  They’d found out through the news stream they’d programmed to come over from Earth-1. They hadn’t been invited to a funeral, or even told that their friend was dead.

And her dad had just...shut down, with the news.  Another person he loved, taken from him. And he hadn’t been there to help. She was sure that he blamed himself, no matter what logic to the contrary she might throw at him.

“Hey Dad,” she said, knocking on the door frame as she let herself in.  He was standing at a drawing board, writing an equation that she could see was wrong from her place at the door.  He was cursing angrily under his breath, so she knew that he knew it was wrong too. He just couldn’t figure out why.

“Jesse,” he said as a greeting, not turning away from the board.

“You want to take a break?” She asked, plopping herself down in the chair behind his desk. “We could go get some coffee?” 

“I’m fine,” he said dismissively, not even looking at her. 

“You aren’t, though,” she argued. “It’s been a month.” 

“A month since what?” He asked tersely, even though they both knew exactly what she was talking about. 

She sighed and pulled her knees up to her chest, continuing to stare a hole through his back as he continued to not look at her. 

“I’m worried about you,” she said. “I know you don’t take tragedy well and…”

“How exactly am I supposed to take it?” Her dad snarled. “Am I supposed to be happy? Just go about my life as if I...like he’s not…” 

“It’s okay to be sad, Dad,” Jesse said softly. “It’s okay to miss him. I know you...you loved him and…”

“He was just a friend,” her dad said stiffly. “And not a close enough one to warrant an invitation to the funeral.” 

“Dad…” Jesse started, but his shoulders hiked up defensively and he started erasing his board with barely-bridled fury. 

“Okay,” she sighed. “I can see you’re not ready to talk yet. I love you, dad.” 

His shoulders tightened even more, but he said nothing. Jesse sighed, got up, and headed down to the basement. 

She had to make a trip and demand some answers. 

* * *

Cisco almost wept with joy when the breach alarm went off. Sure, it meant there was probably trouble, but here inside the walls of Star Labs? Vibe was alive and well. 

Still, he exercised some discretion, in case it was Cicada, and ran to the breach room instead of...well, breaching. Naturally, he was the last one to arrive. 

He was rewarded for this by finding Jesse Wells yelling in Barry’s face, her fists clenched in the front of his shirt.

“How could you do that to him?” She was yelling. “You must know...you have to know how he feels! And no one came to tell him!”

“Jesse,” Barry said, with his very best puppy dog face. “I don’t…”

“He’s heartbroken, Barry!” Jesse yelled, shaking him vigorously. “And he’s hurt and he’s falling apart and I can’t…”

“Whoa whoa whoa!” Cisco said quickly, rushing forward to try and be the peacekeeper. “What’s happened, is Harry okay?”

Jesse went stock-still for a moment, and then released Barry’s shirt and turned to look at Cisco, her face going paper white. Cisco took a step back, thinking for a moment that he was definitely about to get punched, and then Jesse threw herself at him faster than he could track. 

He flinched, and then realized that she was hugging him, so tight it kind of hurt. But hey, it was much better than getting a shake-down, so he patted her back carefully. 

“Hey, it’s good to see you, too,” he said. “What’s the matter?”

“You’re alive!” She said, her voice cracking. 

“Of course I...ohhh shit.” 

He pushed her back by the shoulders and looked at her. “Have you guys thought I was dead this whole time? How did you even hear about that?”

Jesse wiped her face with the cuff of her sweater and glared at him. 

“Dad has a scanner that catches news signals from your Central City,” she explained. “You know how he likes to hover.” 

“So you heard that Vibe was dead…” Iris said slowly. 

“And we assumed that Vibe was dead,” Jesse said. 

“Well,” Cisco said, frowning. “Technically, Vibe is dead. But Cisco isn’t.” 

“Well we assumed both!” Jesse said. “And Dad...he’s really upset. I can barely get him to eat or sleep or… do anything but beat his head against a wall trying to get all his knowledge back because he’s convinced himself it’s his fault.” 

“That’s crazy,” Cisco protested. It was 100% on brand, though. “He wasn’t even here!”

Jesse gives him a Look, and he nods warily. “Yeah, I know, that’s part of the problem.”

“Well...just go get him,” Barry says. “Show him that Cisco’s okay.” 

“I don’t know if I could get him to move if I were on fire,” Jesse says. “Cisco, can you…”

“Yeah, of course I’ll come,” Cisco says quickly. 

“But well…” Barry said. “We...need you here?”

Cisco looked at him, eyebrows raised doubtfully. 

“For what, exactly?” 

“Well, Barry said awkwardly. “You know...for the...stuff and the things…”

“Right,” Cisco said. “What are you hiding?”

“Nothing!” Barry said quickly, his voice squeaky. “Why would I...I’m not…”

“We have a surprise for you,” Caitlin interrupted. “Tomorrow. It’s been a long time in the works and it’s gotta be tomorrow, so…”

“I’ll be back for this mysterious surprise,” Cisco promised, feeling a little touched that his friends cared enough to try and cheer him up with a surprise. He’d kind of started to feel like they were just tired of his depression and waiting for him to get over it. 

“You better be,” Iris said, mock-sternly.

“No problem,” Cisco said. “Come on, Jesse, lets go.” 

He breached them directly into Harry’s office, which, in retrospect, might have been a bad idea. When Cisco stepped through, he found himself face to face with Harry’s BFG, and he didn’t seem inclined to put it down. 

“You have a lot of nerve coming here with that face,” he snarled. “Whatever you want from me, forget it.”

“Harry…” Cisco started, and his angry snarl almost made him swallow his own tongue. 

Luckily, Jesse jumped out of the breach behind him before Harry decided to shoot him in the face. 

“Dad!” she cried, and then a moment later was standing across the room holding his pulse rifle tightly in her hands. “Dad, it’s really him, it’s Cisco!” 

“...It…” Harry repeated, looking dumbfounded. “It’s really you?”

“Yeah,” Cisco said, a little sheepishly. “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.” 

Harry made a noise, like he was choking on a hysterical laugh, and then he was reaching for Cisco. And Cisco reached for him, too, because a Harry hug was never a bad thing. But Harry surprised him, as usual, and  slid his hands up Cisco’s cheek and around the back of his neck and he kissed him. 

It was intense and desperate and that thing he did with his tongue was kind of  _ amazing _ .  Cisco didn’t really know what to do, so he just let it happen. Harry was a surprisingly good kisser, and if Cisco was being honest he’d had a bit of a crush for a while, but…

“Oh wow,” he heard Jesse say faintly. “Gross.”

He pulled away from Harry to shoot her a glare and she pulled a face before disappearing from the room, leaving a burst of air and scattered papers in her wake. 

“You’re alive,” Harry breathed, and he looked at Cisco like he was the single most incredible thing in all the multiverse. 

“I’m alive,” Cisco agreed. “I’m sorry you ever thought otherwise, if I had known you were keeping tabs I would have…”

“I thought you were dead,” Harry says. “I thought that you’d asked me to stay and I’d left anyway and that you died while I wasn’t there to...” 

“Hey,” Cisco said, putting on his best soothing tone. “It’s okay.  I’m okay. Well, I had to fake my own death, but other than that…”

And suddenly Harry was business as usual, though Cisco noticed that he continued to hold him close. He didn’t really mind, even though they were definitely going to have to talk about this later.

“What is going on over there?” He demanded. “I leave for five minutes…”

So Cisco had to take a breath and explain all about Cicada and how he’d gotten his attention in a bad way. He explained about Sherloque and Nora and watched as Harry’s face got darker and darker with each word. 

“Why are you all like this?” He finally asked. “Messing with the timeline  _ again _ , pulling another Wells Doppelgänger out of the woodwork to fuck you over…”

“Listen, I don’t necessarily agree with the Nora thing either,” Cisco protested. “But she saved my life. Without her I’d be dead for real.  And as for Sherloque, well...you weren’t available to us, so we had to find a substitute. Nora tried to call in Herr Wells…”

“Dickbag,” Harry grumbled, and Cisco nodded in agreement. 

“Agreed. But, Harry, the point is...you left, and life had to go on.” 

Harry looked oddly hurt by that, but Cisco had to stand resolute. He’d asked him to stay, and Harry had chosen to leave. He understood why, but...it still felt like being abandoned. 

“I’m sorry,” Harry said. “For what it’s worth, I miss you every day. Even before I thought…”

“That you admit it is worth a lot,” Cisco said. 

And then, because he wanted to explore whatever was happening here, he leaned in and kissed Harry again. It was arguably even better the second time, and Harry held on to him like he was afraid he’d slip right through his fingers.

“We’re definitely going to have to talk about this,” Cisco murmured between kisses. “Like a lot.”

“Later,” Harry growled, and then nipped at Cisco’s lower lip in a way that made his knees weak. 

“Later,” Cisco agreed. 

* * *

“Later”, as it turned out, was going to be much later.  They avoided talking about it in favor of making out in Harry’s office, and then going to get dinner when Jesse finally came back to drag them apart.

Cisco didn’t return home until the early hours of the morning, as reluctant as he was to leave, and when he stepped through the breach into his apartment, Harry was with him. They didn’t say much, but they curled around each other and slept hard.

Saturday morning dawned bright and early with the arrival of Barry, who let himself into Cisco’s apartment and woke them up with a surprised shout.

“Must you, Allen?” Harry grumbled, pressing his face into Cisco’s throat, where it had somehow ended up during the night. 

“Sorry!” Barry said. “I just...didn’t expect...this.”

“Join the club,” Cisco said. “What are you doing in my bedroom?” 

“Your surprise,” Barry reminded him. “You’ve gotta get up and get ready.” 

“Okay, we’ll do that,” Cisco says. “As soon as you’re gone.”

“Great!” Barry said. “I’ll go get coffee.  And donuts.”

He sped out of the room, whipping the blankets off of them with the burst of wind left in his wake.  Cisco groaned and curled into Harry more, hoping to sap his warmth. Harry seemed perfectly okay with this and wrapped an arm around Cisco’s waist to hold him close.

“So,” Cisco said. “What are we doing?”

“Sleeping,” Harry responded.

“Yep,” Cisco said, letting the silence drag before adding, “Together. Directly after making out or like...an hour.”

“Yep,” Harry repeated, deadpan.

“Hm,” Cisco said.  He tightened his grip around Harry, both to leech his warmth and to keep him from running away.  

“I’m only just in a place where I feel like I’m over Cindy,” he admitted into the top of Harry’s head.  He felt Harry stiffen against him, going cold like stone in just a moment.

“This was a mistake,” he said.  It wasn’t like he was proclaiming it, but more like he was voicing what he imagined Cisco’s next words to be.

“No,” Cisco said, glad he’d decided to hold on so tight.  He’d thought about Harry, of course. About what it would be like to kiss him and hold him, and now that he had he was loathe to let it go.  But...

“I don’t think it was a mistake,” he said. “I just think...we should both know where we stand.  I’m just coming out of a serious relationship and I don’t really want to jump right in to another one.  But if we take it slow? I think this could be good.”

“So...casual dating,” Harry said. “I haven’t done that in a long time.”

“Not too casual,” Cisco corrected. “Exclusive, just me and you.  But...dating. Dinner and movies and hanging out when the world isn’t about to end.  Like we would if we weren’t already friends. If you want to.”

“I can do that,” Harry said, like he was making a blood oath.

“Good,” Cisco said, his heart fluttering.  He pressed a kiss into Harry’s hair, just because he could, and thought about getting up.

“I thought you were dead,” Harry said, sudden and quiet. “I thought that I loved you and you died and I never told you.  That I’d been too afraid to say something in case I lost you, and then I never said anything and I lost you anyway.”

“I’m sorry,” Cisco said regretfully. “I’m so sorry, Harry.  I didn’t realize you’d know anything about it. I didn’t think I’d have to come tell you it was all a lie.”

“Maybe it was a blessing in disguise,” Harry murmured. “You’re here and alive and in my arms.”

Cisco’s heart melted at that, into a pile of mush at the bottom of his ribcage. He’d known Harry was a little more in touch with his emotions, after the Thinking Cap, but to hear him admit something like that?  It was startling and wonderful. He tilted Harry’s face up to his and kissed his lips with a soft, happy sigh.

Harry held him like he was something precious, and Cisco was reluctant to pull away from him.   But Barry had only gone out for donuts and coffee, and he was sure to be back any second. Cisco wanted to be showered and dressed by then.  He pulled away from Harry with a few more giggly kisses and went to shower.

By the time he was showered and dressed, Barry came back with the promised coffee and donuts, at regular speed.  He stared at Cisco with his big puppy dog eyes for his entire first donut and half of his cup of coffee. As he heard Harry turn the shower off, Cisco sighed and rolled his eyes.

“So did you go tell the entire team before or after picking up the food?”

Barry winced. “Before?  I just wanted them to be prepared!”

“It’s fine, Barry,” Cisco sighed. “It’s not like it’s a secret.  But we’re taking it slow, so if you could all be cool about this, that would be great.”

“We will be so cool,” Barry promised earnestly.

“I don’t believe you,” Cisco said. “But I appreciate the attempt.”

Barry smiled at him and selected another donut out of the box while they waited for Harry.  He emerged a few minutes later, in clothes he’d had stashed in Cisco’s drawer from the many times he’d crashed on Cisco’s couch.  He still looked sleepy and rumpled, but the line of his shoulders revealed a sort of calm peace that wasn’t usually there. Looking at him made Cisco’s heart jump and he couldn’t help the dumb smile that spread across his face.

“Grab a donut and some coffee,” Barry instructed. “If we don’t leave now, we’ll be late.”

“Late for what, exactly?” Cisco asked. “No one has told me what this is about.”

“You’ll see,” Barry said cheerfully. “The others are going to meet us there.”

Cisco cast an exasperated glance at Harry, but he was too busy perusing the donuts to make an appropriate face back.  He finally selected a glazed jelly and grabbed his coffee, and then Barry was rushing them out the door and in to a cab.

“This just keeps getting more and more suspicious, so you know,” Cisco said, watching Central City flash by outside his window.

“You’re gonna love it, I promise,” Barry said.

They got out of the cab at the end of the park because the road was blocked off by a police barricade.

“Is my surprise a crime scene?” Cisco asked. “Should Harry be keeping a low profile?”

“It’ll be fine,” Barry promised. “No one will be looking at Harry.”

There were a ton of people crowded into the park, milling about and talking to each other loudly enough that it seemed like a roar, and they were all headed in the same direction.  It was only when they passed the copse of trees that Cisco understood what was happening. It stopped him dead in his tracks, because there on the other side of the park was a ten story high scaffolding bearing a picture of him.  Or, more accurately, a picture of Vibe.

It wasn’t the cheesy one they’d used for the news broadcast, with the photoshopped American flag waving behind him.  It looked almost like a candid, probably snapped in the after events of a meta attack. His arms were crossed and he looked serious and stern.  It didn’t really look like him at all.

“What’s happening?” Cisco asked again, even though he was pretty sure he already knew.

“Come on,” Barry said. “The others are saving us a spot up front.”

Harry put a hand on shoulder, his arm braced like a solid weight against Cisco’s back, and he was grateful for it.  He didn’t know what to do with...all of this. It was completely surreal, but having that touch grounded him.

“Is this a...memorial?” he demanded, his voice a little shrill.

“Yeah,”  Barry said, excitedly. “For you!  Well, for Vibe. The City wanted to recognize him.”

Cisco didn’t know what to say, so he just let Harry steer him through the crowd until they came across the rest of the team.  They were all smiles and grins, giving him hugs and kisses on the cheeks and greeting Harry with a very purposeful casualness.

“I can’t believe this,” Cisco said, still not really sure how he felt about it.

“Believe it,” Iris said. “The City approached the Team about it pretty much right after it happened, and well...we thought it would be a nice surprise, once everything was ready.”

“We know you’ve been having a hard time of it lately,” Caitlin said. “I hope you aren’t mad we didn’t tell you.”

“No,” Cisco said. “I’m not mad.”

They didn’t have time to question him any more, because the Mayor took the stage and started her speech.  Cisco could hardly focus on the words themselves, feeling dazed and overwhelmed. Instead he just leaned into his friends, into Harry, and tried not to cry.  He managed through the mayor’s speech, and through the 21 Gun Salute put on by the CCPD. It was when they gave people the opportunity to come and speak about their personal experiences in being saved by Vibe that he finally lost it and sobbed like a baby.

Most of them he didn’t really remember, but they all talked about how brave he was, and how kind.  How he always had a comforting word and a nice smile as he helped them. He’d never realized he had that big of an impact.  And now it was over. Vibe really was dead.

After the memories had been shared, the mayor took the stage again, and talked about  Vibe’s bravery and service to his city, and how he had given all in order to keep the world safe, using his powers for good.

“And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why we have decided to erect this memorial, so that future generations will know of the sacrifices he made for our city.”

And then, off the side of the stage, a curtain dropped and there was a statue of Vibe.  Cisco’s breath caught in his throat at the sight of it. It was...beautiful. Made of stainless steel and close to ten feet tall, it was intricate, showing the details on his jacket and the curls in his hair.  He stood at the ready, back straight, stance wide, one hand outstretched in front of him with the beginnings of a breach made of light blue resin forming on his palm.

“Oh my god,” he said, feeling a little faint as everyone around his clapped and cheered. “I...I need to sit down.”

Harry was the only one who heard him, and he seemed to make it his goal to get Cisco out of there as quickly as possible.  He pushed through the crowd with little regard for the people cussing at him, but Cisco could only be grateful as they broke out of the smash of people and in to the open air, where he felt like he could breathe again.  Harry lead him to a park bench and sat him down and pushed his head down between his knees until his panicked breaths slowed and his heart stopped racing.

“I’m good,” he finally gasped, lifting his head. “I’m good, Harry.”

Harry crouched in front of him, his eyes searching Cisco’s face like he was checking for some sort of injury.   Cisco smiled at him, wobbly and exhausted.

“I’m okay,” he said. “It was just… a lot.”

“They shouldn’t have sprung that on you,” Harry said disapprovingly.

“They meant well,” Cisco assured him. “And I’m glad I got to see it.  To know that Vibe meant so much to so many people.”

“But?” Harry questioned gently.

“But I just realized Vibe really is dead,” Cisco said. “I thought, maybe, after we dealt with Cicada I could come back in and pick up where I left off.  But...he’s kind of a martyr now, isn’t he? And putting that name back on after all this, people would think it was a publicity stunt, or a copycat. I’m not sure which is worse.”

“But you’re not ready for Vibe to be gone,” Harry finished.

“Yeah,” Cisco said. “I don’t feel like I did enough.  And I don’t think I can just sit by when I’ve got these powers and I can help.”

“Well,” Harry said slowly. “Earth-2 could always use a Vibe.”

Cisco stared at him for a long moment, and a slow smile spread across his face. “Yeah?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Harry answered, grinning back at him.

“Well, then,” Cisco said, leaning forward to kiss him. “I better start building some new gear.”


End file.
